UK: Warm spell to bring highest temperatures so far this month

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

The recent cool, wet weather will be replaced by drier and warmer weather for much of the United Kingdom the next several days.

High pressure building over western Europe will help to shield much of England and Wales from any significant wet weather into this weekend.

Rainfall will dampen areas from Northern Ireland into northern England and Scotland on occasion; however, no flooding problems are expected.

The wettest period of weather will be from Thursday into Friday, as downpours will be possible in western Scotland.

While Wales, the Midlands and southern England are expected to be largely dry into this weekend, a brief shower or two will be possible from late Friday into Saturday.

A surge of mild air will be the big story over the next several days as locations throughout the U.K. experience their warmest days of March.

The highest temperatures will be across the south and east; however, even locations that get daily rainfall will get a break from the recent chilly weather.

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Daily high temperatures will peak near 16 C (60 F) in London through Friday. The normal high temperature in the middle of March is only 10 C (50 F).

Manchester can expect high temperatures near 16 C (60 F) on Wednesday and Thursday before dipping to around 13 C (56 F) on Friday as the threat for rain increases.

Temperatures will peak in Edinburgh on Wednesday with a high of 15 C (59 F) before slowly trending downward into the weekend.

Despite the high temperatures of the month, sunshine will be limited this week as daily low clouds and fog will slowly yield to some sunshine across Wales and England. Farther north, clouds may not break in Northern Ireland and Scotland until the weekend.

Download the free AccuWeather app to monitor the upcoming potential for rainy spells in your community.